The HiMiG Gospel Singers

The HiMiG Gospel Singers are a choral group from Davao City in the Philippines.

History

The group was originally formed as a secular choir, The Himig Singers, whose founder and director was Mrs. Evangeline M. Lapore with the help of Rey Alan Lacuin, who gathered members of his high school choir, the Singing Teens, while he was a freshman in college. The group's first accompanist was Greg Canceran then music director Vangie Lapore, the Singing Teens' conductor, acted as an advisor.

In 1990, Alvin "Bong" Aviola became the group's musical director. Aviola renamed the group and changed it to a gospel choir in 2005, while the group was on tour in Canada and undergoing financial and interpersonal stress.

Awards

In 2007, the group won the top prize in the mixed vocal ensembles category at the First Asian Choir Games, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The mother group, the Himig Singers, won the National Music Competitions for Young Artists in 1990 and 1993; the "award of the audience" at the Vivache 2004 International Choral Festival in Veszprém, Hungary; the first prize in the mixed category, as well as the grand prize, in the 26th International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria in 1997; and first prize in the polyphonic category at the XV International Music Festival in Cantonigros, Spain, also in 1997. At the Vienna festival, the group garnered a 99.93-percent rating, the highest rating in the history of the competition as of 1997.